Pet'cr. 169 



p\ rogenetic substances of the different bacteria also liave a 

 qualitative variation, are just as different and specific as for 

 example diphtheria toxine and tetanus toxine ( W'assermann I. '1 he 

 pyrogenetic power of bacteria is not in any way related to their 

 pathogenicit}- (Kraus) ; there are bacteria of high grade viru- 

 lence which produce but little febrile disturbance (as tetanus 

 bacillus), and on the contrary there are non-pathogenic microbes 

 whose cultures nevertheless exhibit a (transitory) pyrotoxic 

 activitv. as those of bacillus prodigiosus and bacillus subiilis 

 (\'oges). A number of bacterial products when administered to 

 the smaller experiment animals in but small doses give rise tO' 

 increase of body temperature, while in large doses they cause it to 

 fall below normal; and there is a notable peculiarity in the action 

 of the substances obtained from cultures of the tubercle bacilku 

 and the glanders bacillus, very small doses of extracts of these cul- 

 tures causing fever to occur in tuberculous and glanders animals 

 but not in healthy ones (in the latter, however, a rise in tempera- 

 ture is produced when the extracts are given in large doses, which 

 would on the contrary produce depression of temperature in the 

 diseased animals with symptoms of fatal intoxication). 



According to the experiments of Matthes the sterile, salt-free 

 hydration products of the albumen molecule, protalbumose, 

 deuteroalbumose, peptone, act in the same manner as the last named 

 agents, and it seems that in the protoplasm of all living cells 

 there exist certain proteid substances capable of inducing temper- 

 ature accession when injected or when set free in the body (Kraus, 

 Wassermann). By subcutaneous and intravenous injection of 

 blood or blood serum of a different species of animal, or by intro- 

 duction of iodide of potash solution or pure distilled water it is 

 possible to cause a rise of temperature, a phenomenon depending 

 upon the h^emol\tic influence of these substances, either the 

 hemoglobin thus freed or the fibrin ferment formed occasioning 

 the increase of temperature. The injection of fibrin ferment 

 promptly occasions marked increase of temperature, true also of 

 other ferments (pepsin, rennet, pancreatin. invertin) as well as 

 of the animal secretions (milk, urine). The purified enzymes are 

 apparently inert: but the same ferments in impure state (but 

 sterile), presumably containing some albuminous admixture, induce 

 an elevation of temperature from which it may be inferred that 

 the active principles are some type of albuminous body (Krehl). 

 However, the influence is not the property of any one single albu- 



